Nitro

Hell yeah NJ's 42nd

If I get bored over the summer there's hundreds of great games online that I haven't seen yet that I can download. I'd rather the live basketball I do watch to have meaning and as much excitement as possible. Also in the summer there is usually international ball to watch, like this year watching the young Team USA try to win Gold at the World Championships. Personally I want to see the length of the playoffs reduced because the first round is usually blowouts (in 7 game format as opposed to the original 5 game format, where upsets are more likely), the second round is usually forgotten, and then you finally get to the meat-and-bones. Most of the time the prior month and a half makes the Finals anti-climatic and tired.

http://www.nba.com/video/channels/nba_tv/2010/07/14/kahn_intv.nba/index.html Ouch. Very akward, and should give everyone plenty of insight into why Kahn gave Darko his hefty contract The "good luck" at the end by Webber was priceless.

Eh...the playoffs are way too drawn out as it is. As for this news, I'd bet my money and say the Kings would be the team to move. The Maloofs have wanted to move the team to Vegas for awhile now, so I wouldn't be surprised to see it happen.

He didn't, he was referring to the Bulls possibly being able to land Melo. Re-read the post.

Wow...ok.

Personally, I think he'd be a much, MUCH better fit on the Lakers. He'd be great in the triangle. I will say that Raja Bell and others would be a better fit on the Heat, but T-Mac can still do two things extremely well- Create for teammates, and attract defensive attention. He will make the lives easier of the big 3, and will be a bench player that can create his own offense. He MUST be in great shape next season as his defense and ability to beat defenders off the dribble was almost non-existent last season. If he gets his weight down and is commited the 10-20MPG he'll probably get, he'll be a valuable asset for the vet minimum.

Very excited to see him in a pretty decent situation where he'll get minutes. Hope he stays healthy, he was great at the end of the last season with the Wizards. Even showed he still has the athletic ability with that dunk against the Lakers.

The Heat's 8-man rotation so far looks fantastic, they are filling in the holes beautifully. Z will give them a big body to put next to Bosh that can rebound and defend pretty well, as well as finish in both the inside and midrange. He's not the tough, defensive minded Center that the Heat ideally wanted, but he's much better than what you can usually get with the vet minimum. His size will be important on this team, which is still undersized in the frontcourt positions.

Eh. I don't think Carter would fit that well on the Bulls, and as the Bulls will tell you from this past off-season, it's very difficult to land the biggest fish in free agency. I'd rather get Redick then work out whatever kinks in the roster at the trade deadline or next off-season.

Don't understand it at all from the Bobcats side (Chandler is also an expiring so Dampier's expiring means nothing). For the Mavs it's a pretty good move IF Chandler can stay on the floor. He's only played 96 games the last two seasons, and his production has taken a big hit as well (not just the Chris Paul effect offensively, but his rebounding and defensive stats as well). But if he's somewhere inbetween his time with the Hornets and Bobcats, he should fit in nicely. He's a tremendous offensive rebounder, is a better defender with more range than Dampier, and he's a good finisher around the rim.

Not a fan of the length of the contract (entering his 13th season), but he's a good signing. He'll give the Nuggets another scorer who can create his own shot as well as finish off plays. He's a solid rebounder and defender as well. He doesn't have the highest bball IQ in the world, but as a 3rd or 4th option he'll be terrific just like when he was the 6th man on a Pacers team that had the best record in the NBA.

Being from the NY area, it's really, really sad to see him go. He's been the soul of this Yankees team for decades, even if in the last few years he was more hands-off. Glad to see the new stadium was built and the Yankees won a championship the last year he was alive. R.I.P PS- I went to a Yankees-Mets game a few weeks ago at the Stadium, and in the concession stands they have Yankee shirts with the back reading, "Costanza"

Well the Jazz seem to be the front-runners for Jefferson, and the Jazz owner tweeted he just approve of a major roster move that he'll announce tomorrow. Of course that could be a different move, but the indication seems to be the deal is just about done.

Yeah...rape accusations, running a top 10 player all-time out of town, demanding a trade, trashing your 20 year-old Center on video...all easier to recover from because he wanted to show he can drop 30PPG on a roster with Odom, Smush Parker and Kwame Brown and LeBron wanted to win rings with Wade and Bosh. Right. Ok, nostradamus.

The bottom of the East is still very weak, so I wouldn't be surprised if the Nets squeek through. The Heat, Magic, Celtics, Hawks, Bulls, Bucks are all locks to make the playoffs. After that it gets very sketchy and makes the 7 and 8 seeds wide open. It gets so bad after the first 6 that any combination of remaining EC teams do have a shot.

Smart man.

Some dude on RealGM said it the best... For the Jazz, I like the move. They lost a lot this offseason, and even if Jefferson isn't the perfect fit, he will still help keep them competitive. I'm very excited to see Jefferson on a good team with a great PG, along with some national TV exposure...hope he does well.

Were you a fan of the NBA back in 2004? Did you read the magazines, discuss it online, etc...? If so, you'll remember how many people crushed Kobe for running out one of the greatest players of all-time. He was viewed as extremely selfish and immature. Put individual glory over team glory. Phil Jackson's book added fuel to that fire. The Heat winning 2 years later did much the same. If Pau Gasol didn't fall into the team's lap in one of the most lobsided trades in NBA history, Kobe likely never again wins a ring as a Laker. Hell, even Kobe knew that by demanding a trade just a few months prior. The people who destroyed Kobe back in 2004 are now doing the same to LeBron for the exact opposite reasons. It's hilarious to me. Yes, you did phrase it wrong then. Shaq went to another team to win a ring (multiple times). Moses went to another team to win a ring. Wilt went to another team to win a ring. If the Lakers had listened to Kobe, he would have as well. Who cares who's team it is metaphorically? 20 years from now people won't remember that, especially since LeBron will be the best player on the Heat, and Wade will be a few years removed from his prime 5-6 years from now. And what happens if Wade gets injured like he was in 2006-2007 and 2007-2008 (where he had to shut himself down the last month or two of the season) and they still win a championship? Will it honestly matter if emotionally it is still Wade's team? No, not one bit. Just to people who refuse to objectively look at LeBron's career. In the end, LeBron will have multiple MVP's, countless individual accolades and likely multiple championships as being the best player on his team. He'll have a terrific legacy, even if it doesn't fulfill the MJ barometer of greatness.

LeBron will still be making an astonishing amount of money. And he may have hurt his brand in the short term...but in the long-term? Kobe got charged with rape, was percieved as running Shaq out of town for his own personal success, and completely lost many of his endorsements...few years later? Even before he started winning rings again, he was the most popular player in the league. If LeBron wins with Miami and continues his excellence on the court, his brand will do juuuuuusssssssst fine. Every year they don't win a championship, they are a failure. LeBron may or may not be "the front man", but you can bet your [expletive] if they fail he will get "front man" blame because of this whole free agency. Probably even moreso than in Cleveland, because now he DOES have help (hand-picked) and they STILL don't win? It'll be horrible. Give me a break. First of all if he stays in Miami for the entire 6 years he will be only 31, the same age as Kobe is right this second. Considering Wade's style of play and age (28), I doubt he will be an all-star 6 years from now, and in all likelihood he'll start to get hit hard with the injury-bug halfway through his contract. The first few seasons he may be playing with a top 3 player in Wade, but the latter half he won't be. It will be LeBron's team, unquestionably. And whether he leads the team in points or not he will still be the best player on a championship team, likely with a Finals MVP attatched to it. He has had one of the most accomplished first 7 years in NBA history from an individual standpoint. That won't change as he starts to hit his prime...except for championships.

Umm...what? $100M+ contract, continued Nike/other endorsements, a bigger market in Miami than Cleveland, and the chance to make his brand even bigger with a few championships = No money? No pressure? If he doesn't win multiple championships the next few seasons, the whole plan is going to be widely considered a failure. That's incredible pressure, and he'll get the blame far more than either Bosh or Wade. And no chance at a legacy? He already has back-to-back MVP's, a scoring title, 2 ASG MVP's, a few All-NBA 1st team selections, an All-NBA Defensive 1st team selection, has broken almost every "youngest to.." record, ROTY, brought one of the worst teams to the Finals in NBA history....and he's only 25. Add a few championships, even if considered "diminished", and a few Finals MVP's, along with sustained greatness and he'll easily be remembered among the greatest to ever play. Maybe not GOAT like so many felt he was destined to be, but one helluva career.

Q-Rich is a great 3pt shooter and a surprisingly good defender. If I was in Orlando I would just hope he comes into the season in-shape, something he has struggled to do since his Phoenix days.

They desperately needed a 3pt shooter and Mike Miller is a perfect fit. He's also unselfish, tough and can rebound/defend pretty well. Definitely one of the best 2nd tier FA's that was out there.

Wow, talk about loyalty. He's going to be getting a lot less than he would be getting from the Mavs, and for a role player that's a big thing. Huge move for Miami, he's a hustle player that will give them great rebounding and defense. He'll also get a ton of open 12-15ft jumpers that he'll feast on.

I'm talking about you using the 2006 World Championships and 2008 Olympics as examples as to why the trio may fail. I brought up and quoted nothing else. Again, that was 4 years ago in a totally different league, totally different make-up of the team, totally different role players (from the 2008 Olympics AND next year's Heat roster), different coaching staff, different competition, etc... That team also had, what, 10-15 games to get everything together for the semi's? With that much talent? The biggest reason the 2008 Team USA worked was because they had the 2007 FIBA America's and a 2008 exhibition schedule to gain chemistry. This Heat team will have training camp, pre-season, an 82 game regular season and anywhere from 8-14 playoff games before they really get tested. And they will have a lot less talent/ego's to mesh than the USA teams did. What's my example? There is no example... the roster isn't nearly completed and we haven't seen these three players play together in an NBA venue. I can make educated guesses as to what they will accomplish, but there is no solid evidence to go off of. Trying to make something out of nothing by using the 2006 World's is just wrong. And IMO Wade being able to lead the Heat to a championship is a lot more proof that this team will work than the 2006 World's being proof that they won't work.